WRIGHT ORVILLE: (1871-1948)

WRIGHT ORVILLE: (1871-1948) American aviator who, with his brother Wilbur, invented and built the world's first successful airplane and made the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight on 17th December 1903. D.S., Orville Wright, being a signed cheque, Dayton, Ohio, 1st March 1924. The partially printed cheque, completed in the hand of Mabel Beck, is drawn on The City National Bank and made payable to The Dayton Building & Savings Association for the sum of $91.67. Signed in bold black ink by Wright, his signature unaffected by the perforated bank cancellation to the centre. VG

Mabel Beck (1890-1959) served as Orville Wright's secretary for 36 years, managing his office and personal affairs from 1912 until his death in 1948. Whilst Wright never married, there has been long-standing speculation—though little definitive proof—that he and Beck were more than just employer and employee. Some biographers suggest they had a secret relationship for decades, while others maintain she was simply a devoted and ´forbidding´ employee who dedicated her life to his work. After Wright´s death Beck played a key role in managing his estate and donated significant items, such as the original print of the Wrights´ first flight photograph to the Library of Congress.